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JLS: "Not Winning The X Factor Was The Best Thing"

The 'One Shot' boy band say it was a good thing they missed out on the ITV1 show crown back in 2008.

JLS say not winning The X Factor was "the best thing" that would have happened to their music careers.

The 'Take A Chance On Me' singers came second to winner Alexandra Burke on the 2008 series of The X Factor, but have gone to achieve chart success on their own away from Simon Cowell's Syco music label.

"When we didn't win The X Factor we were totally gutted," Aston Merrygold told the Daily Mail. "We thought we were going to win.

"And in the hour after the result and the show ending, we got together, knocked on Simon's dressing-room door and begged him to sign us. He wouldn't because his policy was only to sign the winner. It was devastating."

"We had to pick ourselves up and look around the business and make our own deal with a record company," Aston explained. "Looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened."

Fellow JLS member Marvin Humes claims it was each of their hunger to succeed that eventually allowed them to achieve fame after The X Factor.

"This isn't a band, it's a business. It's our business and each of us works at it 24/6. That's the deal," Marvin added.

The latest series of The X Factor came to a close last night (11th December) when girl band Little Mix were crowned 2011 champions.